Section 14:7–14
Jesus gave advice to the other guests and to his host
In this section Jesus was still in the house of the Pharisee. He noticed that the other guests who came into the house were choosing positions of honor at the meal. He instructed them by means of a parable about wedding guests that they should be humble and not seek their own honor (14:7–11). He then instructed the Pharisee who was their host to hold feasts for people who were poor. Poor people could not invite him to a feast in return, so God would reward him (14:12–14).
Some other possible headings for this section are:
Humility and Hospitality (Good News Translation)
-or-
Instructions to Guests and to a Host
Paragraph 14:7–11
14:7a
When Jesus noticed how the guests chose the places of honor: This part of the verse gives the setting for the following illustration or parable. Jesus told this parable because he saw how the guests at the banquet were behaving. In some languages it may be more natural to make this a separate sentence:
He noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table. So…
Jesus noticed: The Greek text literally reads “he noticed” here. The pronoun “he” refers to Jesus. In many languages it will be helpful to refer to him more explicitly here, as the Berean Standard Bible does, because it is the beginning of a new paragraph and section. For example:
Jesus noticed (Good News Translation)
the guests chose the places of honor: At the dinner in the Pharisee’s house, the people who came into the house were deciding for themselves where they would sit. They all tried to choose the places where the honored guests usually sat.
the guests: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as guests refers to the other people who were invited along with Jesus to dine at the home of the Pharisee, as mentioned in 14:1. Since Jesus was one of the guests, it may be clearer to say:
the ⌊other⌋ guests
-or-
some of the guests (Good News Translation)
the places of honor: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the places of honor refers to the places of honor at the table where this dinner was being served. For clarity, the New International Version adds the phrase “at the table.” The New American Standard Bible and New Living Translation (2004) add similar phrases. But if such a phrase would not be helpful in your translation, there is no need to add one.
The phrase the places of honor refers to the places at the feast where the most important people sat. Scholars are not sure where these places of honor were in the Jewish culture. Use a natural expression in your language to describe places where important guests sit at a feast. Other ways to translate this phrase are:
the best places to sit (New Century Version)
-or-
the most important places ⌊at the table⌋ (Translator’s Reference Translation)
-or-
the places ⌊at the table⌋ reserved for the most important people/guests (Translator’s Reference Translation)
14:7b
He told them a parable: The Greek word that the Berean Standard Bible translates as parable usually refers to a story, metaphor, or saying that was used to teach a spiritual truth. In this context, it introduces Jesus’ advice to the other guests in the Pharisee’s house.
In some languages the word that is normally used to translate parable may not be clear or natural in this context. You may need to use a different word. Some other ways to translate this clause are:
he used this illustration (God’s Word)
-or-
he gave them this advice (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
he advised/instructed them, saying
General Comment on 14:7a–b
In the Greek text the order of the clauses is different from the Berean Standard Bible order. Some English versions follow this order. For example:
7b He then told the guests a parable, 7abecause he had noticed how they picked the places of honor. (New Jerusalem Bible)
Consider which order is more natural in your language.
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